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Crossfire: An Australian Reconnaissance Unit In Vietnam

4.14  ·  Rating details ·  181 ratings  ·  8 reviews
In October, 1966, 28 soldiers were chosen to form Australia's first specialist Reconnaissance Platoon in the Vietnam War. One of this platoon's section commanders was a 20-year-old regular soldier called Bob Kearney, who led a series of deadly patrols while the first Australian Task Force established its headquarters in South Vietnam. Operating in isolation and extreme dan ...more
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Published September 1st 2001 by New Holland Australia(AU)
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JD
Apr 02, 2018 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: vietnam-war
Great book about a young Aussies' experience fighting in Vietnam with a reconnaissance platoon. It is well written and describes everything the young diggers go through beautifully, and you feel like the author takes you with him on patrol and everywhere else he goes. It is also a sad story as he tells about lives lost and ruined by the war. What also makes the story unique is the story of the veterans and how they start to recover after struggling with what they went through in Vietnam.

I have n
...more
Peter Stuart
Jul 22, 2019 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
This is remarkable work written by two Vietnam veterans. Consolidating three facets, 2000 and two components from 1967/67.

War does not stop for those involved in the conflict, it continues forever. The ancient Greeks wrote of such, and today thankfully, it is more spoken about and recognized in our society than when Australian veterans returned from the conflicts of the Boer war through to the Malaya emergency and indeed Vietnam.

Those who went to the Boer, WW1, WW2, Korea, Malaya and Vietnam r
...more
Steve Woods
Sep 29, 2019 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: vietnam-war
This book is an outstanding story, not because of the quality of its prose or the importance of its content but for its authenticity. The details could only have been recorded by a frontline infantry soldier who served there and the snippets of conversation and the recounted incidents are so uniquely those of the Australian digger. Once exposed to all of that in the potent stew of frontline service it is never lost nor forgotten. It always comes immediately to the fore when're two or more of us ...more
Campbell Mcaulay
Nov 06, 2012 rated it really liked it
In 1966 Robert "Dogs" Kearney travelled to Viet Nam with the Royal Australian Regiment, a largely conscripted unit of National Servicemen ("Nashos"). The Australian Task Force was deployed in the south of the country and operated more or less independently against the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army. Kearney eventually joined the recconnaisance platoon and, with his mates, operated deep in the jungle in uncomfortable and frequently hair-raising conditions.

I wonder how many people realise tha
...more
Dubaruzal
Jan 10, 2013 rated it really liked it
Excellent insight into the Australian soldier during the Vietnam War, told in a very up-front way. Now I know why my Dad doesn't talk about it much. My thanks go to the authors for taking the time and effort to publish their stories. ...more
David Brown
Mar 31, 2016 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
This is a very involving book. It is a heartfelt series of anecdotes from a young corporal's Vietnam War experiences. Some parts are quite harrowing. Other parts bring out the quirky Aussie soldier's humour in the face of adversity. I found it hard to put down. ...more
Kevin G
Apr 25, 2012 rated it it was amazing
Shelves: true-story

Haran does a great job of getting the balance right with a book that conveys the horror and fear as well as the humour and close friendship of combat. A must read for combat history reader...
Nick
Aug 12, 2012 rated it really liked it
Not bad. A bit slow in places and could do with some polishing.
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Peter joined the army in 1966 and first served in Vietnam, at age 19, from May 1967 to June 1968. He was one of Australia's first tracking dog handlers and wrote of his experiences in his book Trackers. After two years as a dog trainer with the Army's Tracking Unit in Sydney Peter served a second tour in Vietnam from Feb 1971 to Oct 1971. He left the army in 1972 and was a reporter for Adelaide’s ...more

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